Saturday, November 5, 2011

Babies and Miracles (Babies are Miracles)

Earlier this week, my family learned that my grandfather’s cancer is gone! He’s had two rounds of chemotherapy in the past year. Chemo is difficult at any age, but at 80 years old, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand much more treatment. In fact, earlier this year, when he was first diagnosed as “cancer-free” after his first round of chemo, he had decided that he would not do another round of chemo if the cancer returned. He told my mother and grandmother that he had lived a long, happy 80 years and felt at peace having just converted to Catholicism.

So what changed his mind? Why did he undergo chemo again when his cancer reappeared? The answer is simple: only a few days before he was told the cancer was back, I called to tell him that I was pregnant. And he was determined to be here to enjoy his first great-grandchild. A few months later, we found out that my cousin’s girlfriend is expecting as well, so he has double the great-grandchildren to look forward to. Not only were these babies the reason that he decided to continue to fight, they have also been a constant motivation to him throughout the difficulties of the last several months. When he was too dizzy to stand up, too nauseous to eat, too tired to get out of bed, the thought of two chubby little babies on his lap cheered him up and gave him the strength to go on.

To me, this is an ultimate example of trusting God’s timing. As I’ve written about before, my husband and I entered marriage with the plan to postpone pregnancy until after he had finished grad school and had a “real” job. But shortly after marriage, we began to feel an overwhelming desire to have a baby and we subsequently became much more open to life. I cannot believe that it was purely a coincidence that I found out about my pregnancy and told my family about it only days before my grandpa would have to make tough decisions of how to approach the return of his cancer. In a way, this child saved my grandfather’s life by giving him the will to live.

I am reticent to make statements like, “My child is a miracle,” or “My child caused a miracle.” I don’t want to be that mother who is always bragging about how wonderful and special and unique her child is. But that’s not my point anyway. It’s not about this child, it’s about all children - all children are miracles, all children cause miracles, often in ways you may neither expect nor ever learn about. Babies not only bring incredible joy to people around them, they also simply remind people that life is precious, that life itself is a miracle.

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